The Devil Is a Woman

Spain at the turn of the century, carnival time. A young revolutionary is drawn to Concha, whom he sees in the street. His friend, an older officer, tells his own story to warn him: he lost his career, his standing and his money because of the same woman. When the account is finished, the young man goes anyway. The subject is not love but choosing humiliation. Concha promises nothing and tells no lies; the men know what will happen and stay regardless. The coldness of the film comes from that knowledge. The form is Sternberg's densest visual work: carnival masks, confetti, gauze, rain and a frame in constant division. He also shot the film himself. It was withdrawn after an official complaint from the Spanish government, which said the depiction of the Civil Guard officer and of Spain was an insult, and Paramount recalled the prints. The film was unseeable for a long time and only returned to circulation later from a surviving copy. This is the last film Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg made together. Dietrich later named it as her own favourite of her films and said she looked her best in it. Lionel Atwill plays the officer and Cesar Romero the young man. Who it is for: viewers who like the early sound period and cinema built on style. Who it is not for: anyone after character depth; the narrative is deliberately thin and everything leans on the image.